The following extract comes from an article entitled Time for Tasmanian tourism industry to allow a free market, by Greg Barnes (Hobart Mercury, 8 D

Scenario 1:

The following extract comes from an article entitled Time for Tasmanian tourism industry to allow a free market, by Greg Barnes (Hobart Mercury, 8 December 2014).

American economist George Stigler wrote as a rule, regulation is acquired by the industry and is designed and operated primarily for its benefit.

Stiglers theory of regulatory capture is a sound one and we are witnessing its pernicious impact in Tasmania today.

The tourism industry in Tasmania, through its lobby groups the Tourism Council and the Hospitality Association, is embarking on a concerted campaign against . . . rogue operators. It wants government to police barriers to entry into the tourism industry.

It is doing so because it wants to curtail competition and it is dressing up its regulatory capture strategy by pretending that it is campaigning on behalf of consumers.

The Tourism Council is an opponent of the website Airbnb. The outrage is pure self-interest of course.

Regulatory capture is the curse of modern democracy. It erodes competition, innovation and consumer choice. . . .The Tasmanian Government should ignore the media campaign being run by vested interests that are afraid of the chill winds of market forces.

Having read the above extract, answer the following questions:

Pursuant to Capture Theory, why would the Tasmanian Government respond to the demands of the tourism industry?

From a Capture Theory perspective, who benefits from government regulation?

Would it be possible to prove that the Tasmanian Government has been captured by the tourism industry, and if so, what evidence would provide such proof?

Scenario 2:

BHP Billiton defines key stakeholders as those who have an interest in what we do, or have an influence over what we do, or who are potentially impacted by our operations. All BHP Billiton operations are required to identify their key stakeholders and to consider their expectations and concerns for all activities throughout the lifecycle of operations. Operations are also required to specifically consider any minority groups (such as indigenous groups) and any social and cultural factors that may be critical to stakeholder engagement. A regular review process is also a central requirement of stakeholder identification, to ensure that all appropriate groups and individuals are effectively identified and suitably engaged. (BHP Billiton 2010 Sustainability Supplementary Information Report, p.3)

Having read the above extract, answer the following questions:

Is the above definition of stakeholders consistent with a managerial or ethical perspective of stakeholder theory?

Do a brief literature review of Stakeholder Theory.